Are You Sabotaging Your Marketing Success?

What?!? Sabotage your own success? Who would do that? Well, you'd be surprised how many small business owners think they are effectively marketing their business, when in fact they are cutting their own throat.

Yes, they may be running ads that are pulling in leads or customers. And yes, they may be writing a regular column for their local newspaper so they are perceived as the expert in their industry. And yes, they may even be doing a pretty good job of marketing on a regular basis to their prospect list.

So if they are doing all of these things "right," how are they sabotaging their success? Well there are lots of ways.Following are just a few of the ways small business owners unknowingly sabotage their own success.

(1) They have not taken the time to develop a marketing plan.

A plan focuses your efforts and allows you to make the most of your marketing budget. Unfortunately, you can market without a plan. Yes, you read that right.…

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The Great M’s of Success

People who have studied successful people over the last 300 or more years have found certain traits that accounted to their achievements. These success techniques not only helped them forward but also kept them there even in times of depression, recession or other personal disasters. Four of them are The Great M’s of Success in business and life. Mentoring, Masterminding, Marketing & Motivation I have heard it repeated over and over again, "Get Yourself a Mentor." Get help, advice and guidance by someone who has already been there and made it. A mentor can save you years to a lifetime of mistakes. They can excel you forward, in ways you never could on your own. You’ll have a much greater ability to achieve your goals because you will have a blueprint to guide your way. Surprisingly, many people if not most will go to a friend or relative for advice. People who have never succeeded and have no ambition to go anywhere, and then these same people are surprised when they to…
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5 Ways to Stay Motivated in Business

If you own your own business or are an entrepreneur, you can often be faced with challenges that strike down your motivation to go on. But here are a few ways you can reign in the troops and find the gumption to keep going.

Define your core values. Core values encapsulated in a mission statement will guide your company through times good and bad by helping you find direction and bringing you through turbulent times. “Making money” is not a goal that’s sure to keep you motivated when clients aren’t coming, but “delivering sustainable sources of energy” or something similarly specific will help you stay motivated towards a goal that forms the bigger picture.Take a look at the checkpoints. There may be a gap between your desired results and the actual results of what’s happened so far because your goal is monolithic and too far into the future. Take a look at smaller components to get a more accurate picture of how things are progressing, which will also bolster your mo…
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The Functions in Marketing Management

Marketing management involves choosing target markets that not only get new customers but also retain the existing ones. It is a business subject, which is based on research and study of practical applications of marketing techniques and management of the marketing resources. The one who excels in this field is known as marketing manager. The job of the marketing manager is to influence the timing and level of customer demand so as to help the sales. It actually depends on the size of the business and environment in the corporate industry. Like if he is working in a huge production company, he will be the general manager of a particular product category assigned to him and he will be responsible for profit and loss with respect to the product. And in small business there is no marketing manager as his job is taken over by the partners of the company. Creating and communicating best customer values can increase the number of customers. The steps taken and resources utilized t…
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How to Create Powerful Headlines That Sell

You have mere seconds to capture a prospect’s attention. One of the single most powerful tools you have to accomplish this task is your headline. There are several keys to a compelling, and selling, headline and a few tips to help you get the job done. #1 Tap into Your Prospects’ Emotions According to psychologists our buying decisions are based first and foremost on our emotions. Use headlines which offer your readers a strong emotional benefit or reaction. Some possible emotions are: For example, The 20-Minute Step that Will Make You a Business Genius taps into readers’ desires to feel smart and powerful. Other emotions you can tap into are a desire to feel: 1. Attractive 2. Sexy 3. Assertive 4. Confident 5. Energetic 6. Pampered 7. A sense of belonging 8. In control of their own destiny 9. Wealthy 10. Proud 11. Respected 12. Safe #2 Make it Active To compel it’s important to use active language - language that shows movement and commands atten…
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Differences Between Marketing and Advertising

Marketing and Advertising, although they sound similar, in reality are not. Advertising is only a part of the bigger game called Marketing. Marketing encompasses complete conceptualization of a brand beginning with research, to designing to advertising to sale. Advertising, on the other hand is a component of the marketing process which is  conveying the message through a variety of mediums to promote the product. Advertising is one of the most important components of a marketing strategy and can also be the most expensive. Advertising constitutes sending the message through a variety of means - sharing about your company, product or services. It also constitutes behind the scenes work like the process involving formation of various strategies and coming up with a right one to target the viewers. The strategy consists of planning things like placing ads, deciding what media to use, what time, frequency etc. The advertisements are generally placed via ad channels like televis…
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How to Identify Your Target Audience and Ideal Customer

One of the most important issues to address in your business life is identifying your target audience and ideal customer. Without honing in on a specific target audience, you run the risk of missing the mark. There are several easy steps to identify your target audience and ideal customer. Set Your Goals and Keep Your Goals One of the best ways to identify your target audience is by setting goals for your business. Once you have set identifiable goals, your ideal customer will present him or herself. Keeping true to those goals will ensure that your target audience and ideal customer will return time and again. Measure Your Goals Once you have established what your goals are, it is important to revisit those goals and measure them on a regular basis. A great way to measure your goals to see if they are up-to-date is to utilize social media. Have your customers or clients take a survey or enter a contest to see whether or not your company is meeting and exceedi…
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The Ins and Outs of Relationship Marketing

Relationship Marketing is targeted at building stronger and long lasting relationships with clients and other companies. The business is done with a strategic orientation, where the relationship is improved with existing customers rather than finding new customers. It is meant to cater to the needs of individual customers. Its major part involves studying the need of the customer and how it changes in different circumstances. Relationship marketing applies techniques like marketing, sales, customer care and communication. The relationship is not only enhanced but its life period is increased by these strategies. And as the customer realizes the value of relationship, they are drawn closer. This marketing not only focuses on building relationship and attracting customers to their products and services but also how to retain them. A raw form of Marketing came into existence in the 1960s. But, organizations were still facing difficulty in selling products, so a system was de…
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How to Make Money before You Have Products to Sell

If you’ve decided that you want to work from home running your own business, you may need to have a form of income while you finish creating products and developing your business infrastructure. There are a number of ways in which you can bring in some income while you get your business off the ground. * Provide a Service – If you plan to make your own products and sell them, you likely have skills that other people will want to use. Try finding out if anyone needs the types of service you could offer. Perhaps you’re good at graphic design, database management, transcription, or something else entirely. Put it out there and people may buy your time. * Get a Part-Time Job – If you can’t wait for services to take off, you can get a part-time job. Sign up to be a substitute teacher or a temp at an agency, or head over to your nearest fast food place and you’re likely to be hired on the spot. * Get a Work-at-Home Job – There are also work-from-home jobs that you can get pr…
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How to Reach the Right Market for Your Product or Services

"Identify your niche and dominate it. And when I say dominate, I just mean work harder than anyone else could possibly work at it". - Nate Parker Niche marketing is far and away one of the best ways to reach a targeted market looking for specialty products and services. When you can market to a highly targeted group of people and offer them the information, products or services they’re looking for, you’re going to do well. The key, therefore, is to find those niche markets which are looking for answers. Keyword Research Most often keyword research is the best place to start. However, keyword research doesn’t have to be a systematic non-creative process. Rather, keyword research can be a brainstorming tool. The first step is to start with potential keywords or phrases you’re interested in. Use the keyword tools to generate a list of viable keywords and keyword phrases. In addition, research the viability, supply and demand for your topic keywords. Start by t…
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Creating Your Action Plan and Online Business Timeline

Most businesses start out with a dream and an inspiration, but that is where it ends. Even the most innovative businesses can wind up closing their doors because a good action plan and a focused timeline were not in place at conception. There are many benefits to creating your action plan and online business timeline. When you have an action plan put into place and follow it regularly and continue to focus on your business timeline, things will run much more smoothly for your new business, your employees, and your customers. Tips to Create a Powerful Action Plan * Streamline Your Path – If you have a dream and a vision – excellent. Now, you must have knowledge of where your business is heading down the line. It is important to focus on a streamlined path when you first start your business. Otherwise, you are likely to find that your business is “all over the place.” Be sure to be specific in where you expect your business to go in the first twelve months. * Put …
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The Story You Tell

Storytelling can be a powerful component in a marketing strategy. It can be the driving force behind developing, and more importantly, establishing a brand that connects and resonates with your target audience. The story you tell, and the method in which you use to weave that story throughout your marketing campaigns will be based on your overall goals but one thing remains the same:  Your story will be designed to introduce your brand to the world in a way that helps you stand out and apart from the competition. Storytelling is a testament to our hard work; it highlights the efforts we’ve taken to create an outstanding brand, and it helps deliver large pieces of content in a way that people can connect to.  It’s also the easiest way to express emotions and illustrate your commitment to providing value. There’s nothing more powerful than a carefully crafted story that fulfills the needs of your core market.  Have you ever used story-telling to launch a produc…
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